MOUNT HOLLY – Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a Lawnside drug dealer was sentenced today to seven years in New Jersey state prison for causing the death of a customer to whom he sold heroin in 2017.

Under terms of the sentence handed down by the Hon. Gerard H. Breland, J.S.C., Jimmy Flakes Jr., 41, of the 100 block of Ashland Avenue in Lawnside, must serve 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole.

Flakes pled guilty in October to one count of Strict Liability for a Drug-Induced Death (First Degree) as part of a plea agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office.

The investigation revealed that Jeffrey Potter, 45, from the Marlton section of Evesham Township, was discovered dead in his home on September 28, 2017 after using heroin that had been purchased from Flakes. The investigation further revealed that Flakes made a profit of $10 on the sale of the heroin.

An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined the cause of death was opiate toxicity.

“The pervasiveness of illegal drugs in our society is a crisis that demands the use of every tool available to combat this scourge,” Prosecutor Coffina said. “Our office will continue to use this statute whenever it is applicable to clear dealers from our neighborhoods and put them in prison.”

Flakes was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Jeremy M. Lackey and Assistant Prosecutor Jamie Hutchinson. It was investigated by the Evesham Township Police Department, with assistance from the Lawnside Police Department in Camden County. The lead investigator was Evesham Township Police Detective Christopher A. DeFrancesco.

2019-08 Drug Dealer Sentenced for Causing Death of Customer